If ever there was a Christmas that we needed Dolly Parton to be everywhere, it is this one. Netflix is streaming an original movie that stars the legendary angel. An Angel is what she plays in Christmas on the Square. Along with being the star on top of the tree, she wrote 14 original songs for the holiday musical.
Regina Fuller (Christine Baranski) grew up in the small town that her father owned. Now that he passed away, the Scrooge has decided to sell it. Forcing everyone out of the homes and businesses on Christmas Eve. People like her best friend Margeline (Jenifer Lewis) and her ex-boyfriend Carl (Treat Williams). Obviously, the townspeople don’t want to leave, so Pastor Christian (Josh Segarra) organizes a rally to resist Regina.
Is there anything that anyone can do to change her mind and the mean woman she became? Angel (Dolly Parton) is hoping that Regina can become the woman she was before something happened that changed her. That secret is why she left her home and became the evil businesswoman who puts money before friendship.
Christmas on the Square is directed by Debbie Allen. She brings her dance style to life with Parton’s song, thus creating several magical performances.
Talking about performances, it is nice to see Lewis and Williams return to the musical roots. I have had a crush on Williams since I was a little girl and saw him in Hair. I have been waiting years for him to sing again, and great things come to those who wait.
If 2020 is getting to you, then let this musical bring a smile to your face. I can’t stop smiling since I saw it. It is hard not to smile when you combine Christmas, music, and Dolly Parton in one joyous movie.
Vanessa Hudgens and Vanessa Hudgens are back in The Princess Switch, and this time they have a new co-star. Her name is Vanessa Hudgens. That’s right, in The Princess Switch: Switched Again, the actress will play three roles instead of just two.
Netflix describes the sequel as, “When Duchess Margaret (Hudgens) unexpectedly inherits the throne to Montenaro and hits a rough patch with boyfriend Kevin, it’s up to her double Princess Stacy of Belgravia (Hudgens) to get these star-crossed lovers back together… but the course of true love is complicated by the appearance of a handsome royal who’s intent on stealing Margaret’s heart. Throw in the unexpected arrival of Margaret’s outrageous party girl cousin Fiona (Hudgens), a third look-alike who has ambitions of her own, and you have the recipe for Christmas triple trouble!”
The film starts streaming on November 19th. If you have not seen the first one, then you should watch it now. It is a sweet Christmas story with a Prince because that is one of the must-haves in a holiday movie. That and the baker who meets her true love. Check two things off of the nice list, I mean, Christmas movie list.
Dolly Parton has become a television movie staple over the last few Christmases. She has had telemovies on NBC, Hallmark, and Netflix. This year’s present is called Christmas on the Square. The musical will debut November 22nd on Netflix, and it stars the lovable legend as an Angel, Christine Baranski as a Scrooge, Treat Williams as her ex-sweetheart, and Jenifer Lewis as her friend.
While it is not a Christmas Carol per se, it has some similarities to the Mark Twain classic, and that is OK. “A rich and nasty woman, Regina Fuller, returns to her small hometown after her father’s death to evict everyone and sell the land to a mall developer – right before Christmas. However, after listening to stories of the local townsfolk, reconnecting with an old love, and accepting the guidance of an actual angel, Regina starts to have a change of heart. This is the story about family, love, and how a small town’s Christmas spirit can warm even the coldest of hearts.”
The holiday film includes 14 original songs from Miss Dolly. Debbie Allen choreographed the dance numbers.
Between this movie and Dolly’s Christmas album, the season is going to be so bright with joy that even 2020 cannot put it out. Well, unless 2020 gives Santa Claus COVID-19 and kills him. Which, at this rate, would not totally surprise me.
As sad as I will be about old Saint Nick going to the big North Pole in the sky, I will still be full of happiness because I will be watching Christmas on the Square over and over and over again. How can you watch anything from Dolly and not feel happy after it is over?
Deaf U, the Netflix docuseries that is streaming now, is a no holds barred look at some of the students who go to Gallaudet University, a private college in DC for people with hearing impairments. They are just like college students all over the world, except they are Deaf or hard of hearing.
Just like any college, there are clicks. At Gallaudet, there are the elitists. They are people whose parents were deaf and sent their children to Deaf schools. When they sign, they just use their hands and not their mouths. They think they are better than those who went to schools with people who can hear. If you were not taught ASL from day one, then you are not as good as them.
They also do not believe in hearing aids. Using one is a shameful thing. Dalton Taylor flushed his down the toilet after some of the kids made fun of him for wearing one. They also look down on people who have some hearing. Just because there are clicks, they still hang out and date the non-elites.
No matter what class of student they are, the gossip spreads like wildfire. One of the students says all they do is talk crap about each other. They are worse than people who can hear.
For example, Daequan Taylor and Alexa Paulay-Simmons used to date, but they broke after she aborted their baby. She has moved on and is dating someone new. Although, she still has feelings for her old lover. He wants to know how much.
Cheyenna Clearbrook is an online influencer, but she is not part of the elite. Her friend tells her that the Deaf community is small. They will destroy her unless she does what they want and stops catering to people who can hear. She doesn’t care, but it does bother her that they won’t accept her.
Renate Rose has dated men, but she also likes girls. She has a girlfriend, and her lover is going to help her through some tough times. The method is something I am going to try out.
The show also follows them as they drink, party, date, and struggle to find out who they are and who they want to be. This is what most normal college students do.
Each episode moves so quickly. You will be amazed that you binged to the first season in one sitting. Then when they drive off into the sunset, you are left wanting more.
The biggest takeaway from Deaf U is this series normalizes Deaf and hard of hearing people. Something that has been a long time coming. I am glad that the time has finally come.
Thank you to Executive Producer Nyle DiMarco, who won Dancing with the Stars, for bringing awareness to the Deaf and hard of hearing community with this show. Also, thanks to Netflix for streaming it. I am happy that they are using their service for spreading awareness.
Even though Netflix picked up GLOW for a fourth and final season, today they announced that is no longer the case. Production on the final season was halted in March due to COVID-19, and the streaming made the difficult decision that it will not resume.
Series creators Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch told Deadline. “Netflix has decided not to finish filming the final season of GLOW. We were handed the creative freedom to make a complicated comedy about women and tell their stories. And wrestle. And now that’s gone. There’s a lot of sh*tty things happening in the world that are much bigger than this right now. But it still sucks that we don’t get to see these 15 women in a frame together again.”
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, it would have been hard to film due to the wrestling scenes because the actors would need to be in close contact with each other. Something that is very hard to do with SAG’s regulations. Plus, it has a large cast, and that would have been expensive.
As sad as I am that it will not get a proper sendoff. I didn’t like the third season nor the ending. Thus, this might be a good thing.
